Women in Kwara state, drawn from different backgrounds on Wednesday held a rally to canvass support for second term bid of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq for promoting women and girl-child issues in his administration.
The women, Kwara women for AA, gaily dressed in different uniforms, took their rally round the Ilorin metropolis in motorcades, singing and dancing to promote the APC government in the state.
Speaking with journalists, the convener and coordinator of the group, Mrs. Funmi Adefila, said that the pro-women achievements of the governor had should not go unrewarded by women in this state.
“Many of us here are not card-carrying members of any political party. However, we make no pretence about our strong interest in governance and all issues that may affect (us as) women and our children.
“Over the last two years in Kwara State, we have seen a deliberate effort by the administration of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq to mainstream gender inclusion in governance.
“It is on record that no administration in modern history of Nigeria has done so well to bring women to the decision making table. We saw this in cabinet composition where he gave 56.25 per cent cabinet positions to women as well as in headship of government agencies and parastatals.
“This has far-reaching consequences on public policies and programmes. For instance, anti-family or anti-women policies can only get government support in Kwara of today if women become complicit in such. This is because we are adequately represented in virtually all areas involved in policy designs, except in the House of Assembly which is beyond the dictate of the Governor.
“Similarly, we have seen serious attention being paid to child development and government services that especially benefit women and children. The huge investments of the Abdulrazaq administration in basic education, sanitation, water, safety net programmes, and child and maternal health testify to his love for the welfare of the disadvantaged groups in the society.
“He topped these with the introduction of a law that commits Kwara to gender inclusion through the Gender Composition Law 2021 and fair treatment of women through the recent domestication of the Violence Against Person Law.
“This is beyond partisan sentiments. It is about telling the whole world that Kwara women do not take the support of the governor for granted. We owe this duty to ourselves and to our girl child who has had a dignifying space created for her in the room where her destiny and that of her family are being determined. This is the new reality in Kwara of which many states are now jealous.
“This briefing only serves to usher in various activities to openly declare a mass movement in support of a leader who, against all odds, has challenged the default man-syndrome in our public life.
“In Kwara today, you can no longer assume (in line with the default man mentality) that a certain office is held by a man or woman. You need to be sure whether the holder of that office is a man or a woman. What this points out is that Kwara is a balanced society where both men and women are competitively contributing their quotas to the
development of the society. The positive effects of such a fair societyand gender balanced environment will resonate far into the future!”.
Also speaking at the event, Senior Special Assistant on Sustainable Development Goals to the Governor, Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim, said “Kwara state women have come together to show unwavering support for the governor because of his support for the women and the encouragement he has given them.
“The rally has been held to appreciate the governor and to let the world know that one good term deserves another the governrent recent signed int the law the gender composition bill to allow women participation in governance and it is what no administration can change and it was as a result of his political will. We want a system through which this can continue, that is why you see women from all walks of lives gathering today to support the governors reelection bid” she said.